The Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation has formally requested the Finance Ministry to secure funding for land acquisition needed to expand three airports in Karnali and Lumbini Provinces.
The total estimated cost for land acquisition to upgrade Surkhet and Jumla airports in Karnali, as well as Tarigaon Airport in Dang, is Rs 16 billion.
Prakash Pokharel, a section officer at the Tourism Ministry, confirmed to the state-owned news agency RSS that a formal proposal has been submitted to the Finance Ministry. Following recommendations from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the Cabinet meeting on February 27 decided to allocate financial resources for the necessary land acquisition to facilitate the expansion.
The estimated cost for acquiring land at Tarigaon Airport is Rs 5 billion. The Tourism Ministry has requested an initial allocation of Rs 10 million, along with a financial guarantee of Rs 990 million.
Similarly, the Finance Ministry has been asked to allocate Rs 100 million and guarantee Rs 4.90 billion for land acquisition at Surkhet Airport, where the total estimated cost is Rs 10 billion.
For Jumla Airport, the estimated land acquisition cost is Rs 1 billion. The ministry has requested an allocation of Rs 100 million, with an assurance of Rs 400 million in resources.
In 2018, then-Karnali Province Chief Minister Mahendra Bahadur Shahi introduced an ambitious plan to establish a provincial airline. Named “Karnali Airlines,” the initiative aimed to operate domestic and inter-provincial flights, but it remains stalled.
During Shahi’s tenure, the provincial government announced plans to construct an international-standard airport in Surkhet and a high-altitude airport in Mugu. A Chinese company conducted a free feasibility study for both airports and submitted a report to the provincial government, according to RSS.
Currently, only four daily flights operate between Surkhet and Kathmandu, while flights to Upper Karnali have declined.
In 2020, a plan was introduced to expand Surkhet Airport’s runway to 1,500 meters and enable nighttime operations. A meeting chaired by then-Chief Minister Shahi in December 2020 decided to develop the airport as a long-term project equipped with an approach lighting system.
The estimated cost for the airport expansion and upgrade was Rs 2 billion. In the first phase, Rs 500 million was allocated by the provincial government and Rs 510 million by the central government. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the federal and provincial governments on October 1, 2020, for the expansion. However, due to a lack of progress, Rs 1.01 billion in allocated funds was frozen.
In the fiscal year 2021/22, Rs 1.50 billion was allocated for the project, but construction work never commenced. Protests from local residents fearing displacement halted the expansion, as the project would impact approximately 923 households and several schools in wards 10, 11, and 12 of Birendranagar Municipality.
Meanwhile, CAAN has begun acquiring 183.80 ropani (approximately 9.34 hectares) of land for the expansion of Jumla Airport’s runway and the construction of a new terminal building.
Jumla Airport currently has a 670-meter-long and 20-meter-wide runway. CAAN has already allocated funds for the expansion and instructed the district aviation office to coordinate accordingly, as reported by RSS.
The allocated funds will be used for runway extension, apron construction, and the development of access roads between the apron and aircraft parking areas.
RSS
